Playlist:

Hurricane ~ 30 Seconds To Mars

We Must Be Killers ~ Mikky Ekko

Kill Everyone ~ Hollywood Undead

STILES

I brought Dad dinner. Since Mom died, I took it upon myself to keep an eye on him. He's all I got, you know.

"I'm starving," Dad said as I brought the bag in. He took a bite of his burger, then paused. "Oh, what the hell is this?"

"Veggie burger," I simply said.

"Stiles, I asked for a hamburger."

"Well, veggie is healthier." I held up a salad. "We're being healthy."

Dad opened the other container to reveal celery and carrots. "Oh, hell, why are you trying to ruin my life?"

"I'm trying to extend your life, okay? Could you just eat it, please?"

Dad just gave me a look.

"And tell me what you found."

"No, I'm not sharing confidential police work with a teenager."

I looked behind Dad and saw the evidence board. "Is that it on the board behind you?"

Dad looked over his shoulder and I started to study the board. "Don't look at that."

"Alright."

"Avert your eyes."

"Okay."

"Hey! Avert!"

"I see arrows pointing at pictures."

"Okay, okay, stop. Fine. I found something. The mechanic and the couple who were murdered. They all had something in common."

"All three?"

"Yeah. You know what I always say. One's an incident, Two's a coincidence."

"Three's a pattern," I finished.

"The mechanic, the husband, the wife. All the same age. All 24."

"Wait a minute, what about Mr. Lahey? Isaac's dad isn't anywhere near 24."

"Which made me think that either A, Lahey's murder wasn't connected or B, the ages were a coincidence, until I found this." Dad held up a folder. "Which would be C."

I took the folder.

"Did you know that Isaac Lahey had an older brother named Cameron?"

I opened the folder. Stamped in red ink across the paper were the words "DIED IN COMBAT". I read the words out loud.

"But if he were alive today take one guess as to how old he'd be."

I looked at Dad. "24." Then I thought about Trish. "Wait, Anna's sister is 24." The two of us went to the board. "Now, what if same age means same class? Did you think of that?"

"Yeah," Dad paused. "Well, I would've. I mean, I just got Lahey's file two hours ago."

"Two hours? Dad, people could be dying."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. Thank you."

I studied the wall. "Same class," I said.

Dad and I looked at one another, then brought out the Beacon Hills High School yearbooks and files. We went through the files until I found what we were looking for.

"Okay, this is it. Class of 2006." I opened it and looked for the names of all the victims, including Bennet. "They all went to Beacon Hills," I said.

Dad pointed to something in the file he had open. "Including Isaac's brother."

"Alright, but so what if they all knew each other, you know. I mean, two of them were married, so maybe they hung out together." I knew Trish knew Bennet. They'd dated before she started dating Derek's cousin, but I wasn't sure if she knew the others.

"Well, they could have had the same classes together." Dad flipped through the pages. "They could've...," he trailed off.

"What?"

"Same teacher." Dad showed me the transcript for all four of them. They all had Mr. Harris as a teacher. Including Trish.

"They were all in his class?"

"All four. And I don't know how Mr. Lahey fits in, but this, kid, this is definitely a pattern. Alright, give me the 2006 yearbook. These names, we need faces."

"Which ones?"

"Everyone in that chemistry class." Dad picked up the phone. "If the killer's not done killing..."

"Then one of them's next." I knew I needed to warn Trish.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's Stilinski."

TRISH

"Why are we going to the animal clinic?" I asked as Derek pulled up to the clinic.

"Because Scott said the vet could help and we're hoping that he has something you don't to help against the Kanima venom."

"He didn't have anything to slow down the Nordic blue poisoning," I pointed out.

"Doesn't mean he won't have something that won't help with the venom."

We got out and I let Isaac out of the back. We approached the door and Scott unlocked and opened the door.

"What's he doing here?" Scott asked. "I thought you were just bringing Trish."

"I need him," Derek simply said.

"I don't trust him."

"Yeah, well, he doesn't trust you either," Isaac snapped.

I rolled my eyes.

Derek turned towards them. "You know what? And Derek really doesn't care."

"Why are we speaking in the third person?" I asked.

Derek just gave me a look before turning back to Scott. "Where's the vet? Is he going to help us or not?"

"You know the vet does have a name," I said.

"Thank you, Trish," Alan said, leaning against the door frame. All eyes were on him now. "And that depends." Alan looked at Scott. "Your friend, Jackson. Are we planning to kill him or save him?"

"Kill him," Derek said.

"Save him," Scott and I said at the same time as Derek. We both looked at the Alpha.

"Derek," I sighed. We had already discussed this. Scott was giving Derek a look and Derek looked at Scott, a "what?" look on his face.

"Save him," Scott said firmly.

Derek then looked at me. I twerked an eyebrow at him and he sighed. Scott saw that he'd backed down and turned back to Alan.

"Save him."

Isaac had a completely amused look on his face at Scott and I tag teaming Derek. Alan nodded towards the back and we followed. Alan brought out his stash of herbs and we started looking through them. Isaac reached out towards one of the containers and Derek grabbed his arm.

"Watch what you touch." He shoved Isaac's arm away.

"Derek's right," I said. "Sometimes herbs can be harmful to you just by touching it."

Isaac leaned forward as Alan picked up a jar and I picked up another. Each jar was labeled with a Celtic symbol. As a Druid, I was well versed in Celtic symbols.

"So what are you two?" Isaac asked. "Some kind of witch?"

I had an amused smile on my face as I replaced the jar and picked up another. Derek gave Isaac a look.

Alan just looked at him. "No, I'm a veterinarian," he said said.

Isaac looked at me.

"And I'm an ER nurse."

Derek turned his look on me and Scott gave me a look. They both knew I was more than an ER nurse. Although, I'm pretty sure Scott thought I was a witch. Actually, I'm pretty sure they both thought I was a witch. Isaac, of course, didn't know about my gifts. Alan, on the other hand, knew exactly what I was. We both replaced the jars that were in our hands.

"Unfortunately, I don't see anything here that's going to be an effective defense against a paralytic toxin." He looked at me. "Trish?"

"I didn't find anything in my collection either."

"We're open to suggestions," Derek said.

"Don't get tagged," I said, sarcastically and Derek gave me a look, as did Alan.

"What about an effective offense?" Isaac asked. The kid was smarter than he looked. I looked through the jars again, an idea beginning to form.

"We already tried," Derek reminded him. "I nearly took its head off. Trish used her magic against it and Argent emptied an entire clip into it. The thing just gets right back up."

"Has it shown any weaknesses?" Alan asked.

"Well, one. It can't swim."

"I was able to hold it at bay temporarily with a water barrier," I added. Isaac was looking at me oddly. "Still not a witch, Isaac. Stop looking at me like that."

"Does the fear of water or the inability to swim go for Jackson as well?" Alan asked.

"No," Scott answered. "He's the captain of the swim team."

"Is there any sport he's not the captain of?" I asked.

"Gymnastics."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I picked up the jar of Mountain Ash.

"Essentially, you're trying to catch two people." Alan turned and went through a drawer, bringing back a Celtic relief coin and held it up. "A puppet. And a puppeteer. One killed the husband but the other had to take care of the wife. Do we know why?"

"One is supernatural and one is not," I suggested.

Alan looked at me and nodded.

"I don't think Jackson could kill Jessica," Scott said. "His mother died pregnant, too, and she was maybe murdered."

"Which would explain why he became a Kanima instead of a wolf," I said.

"I think he couldn't let the same thing happen to someone else."

"So the master had to kill Jessica because Jackson wouldn't do it," Derek said.

Scott nodded.

"How do you know it's not part of the rules?" Isaac asked. "The Kanima kills murderers. If Jackson kills the wife, then the baby dies, too."

"Does that mean your father was a murderer?" Scott asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me if he was."

I was tapping my finger on the lid of the Mountain Ash jar, playing with ways that my idea could work before I mentioned it.

"Hold on," Alan said, seeing the jar in my hand. "The book says they're bonded, right?"

Derek nodded.

"I think Trish may be having the same idea, but what if the fear of water isn't coming from Jackson but from the person controlling him. What if," Alan took the jar of Mountain Ash from my hand. "Something that affects the Kanima," He held up the jar for the other to see. "Also affects its master?" Alan made a circle of Mountain Ash around the coin.

"Meaning what?" Isaac asked.

"Meaning we can catch them," Scott said. "Both of them."

Alan nodded.

"We can lay a trap," I said. "If my guess is correct, we can trap the Kanima with a Mountain Ash barrier."

"Is this why you were playing with the jar for five minutes?" Derek asked.

I nodded. "I was making a plan before I mentioned it. It's a shape-shifter, just like the three of you. It will not be able to cross the barrier."

I passed my hand over the ash to demonstrate. Derek demonstrated to the two Betas how a supernatural could not cross it, a blue glow appearing around his fingers where he pushed against the barrier.

"We can trap the Kanima, but how does that help us catch who's controlling him?" Derek asked.

"If they're bonded, the master will know the Kanima is trapped and will come to free him." I looked at the others. "We just have to figure out who their next victim is."

~~~

"You want to what!?"

Anna looked up at me as she rode in the passenger seat. She had Stiles on speakerphone as we came home from school.

"Did I just hear you say you want to use me as bait?"

Yes? Look, Dad and I figured out that all the victims had one thing in common. They were 24 and were in the same class as Harris. Bennett, Tucker, Sean, Jessica, Isaac's brother. And you.

"Wait. You think that Trish is a target?" Anna asked.

Possibly.

"Bennett and Cameron killed people, yes, but why target the others? Why target me?"

I don't know. But what if Harris is the one controlling Jackson?

"Why would Harris kill people that graduated six years ago? Why not start with you guys?"

Probably because he didn't think we'd make that connection.

"So you want me, a possible target, to play the bait? What if I am the next target?"

Use your voodoo.

"Did you seriously just call it voodoo? If he really is coming for me, do you really think my magic will hold him off if he manages to nick me?"

Scott, Derek, and the others will be there.

"I don't like this plan."

It's the best one we have.

"Of course it is," I sighed and looked at Anna. She was going to be at this rave thing. Scott had seen Jackson purchasing a ticket to it and they all assumed that his next target would be there.

Can you just meet us at the animal clinic?

"Is the clinic now supernatural planning grand central station?"

Apparently.

"Fine. We're on our way."

Anna hung up and looked at me worriedly. "What if he does come after you? What if you get hurt?"

"I... I don't know."

I really didn't know how to calm her fears. Melissa had agreed to be Anna's godmother right after Mom died and I became Anna's legal guardian. If something happened to me, Anna would go live with the McCalls. I pushed the thoughts out of my head as I pulled up to the animal clinic. Scott and Stiles were already there. We gathered around the exam table and Alan held up a vial, a syringe in the other hand.

"Ketamine?" Scott asked.

"It's the same stuff we use on the dogs, just a higher dosage." He set the ketamine and the syringe on the table in front of Scott and the young wolf picked it up. "If you can get close enough to Jackson, it should slow him down enough to buy you some time."

"Time for what?" Anna asked.

Alan held up the jar of Mountain Ash. "This is some of what you'll use to create the barrier. This part is for you, Stiles, and Anna. Only you two."

Anna looked surprised. I wasn't happy about this but I would be on the inside, hoping I wasn't on the Kanima master's hit list.

"Uh, that sounds like a lot of pressure," Stiles picked up the jar. "Can we maybe find a less pressure-filled task for us?"

"Shut up, Stiles," Anna said, taking the jar from him and studying the contents. "What is this stuff?"

"Mountain Ash," I replied.

"It's from the mountain ash tree," Alan explained. "Which is believed in many cultures to protect against the supernatural." He motioned around him. "This office is lined with ash wood, making it difficult for someone like Scott to cause me any trouble."

Scott looked amused and Alan smiled. I gave a chuckle, remembering how Peter couldn't cause any trouble when he came to collect Scott after he was shot with wolfsbane.

"Okay, so then what?" Stiles asked. "We just spread this around the whole building and then either Jackson or whoever is controlling him can't cross it?"

"They'll be trapped," Alan answered.

"Doesn't sound too hard," Scott said, reassuringly.

"I'll do it if you think that's too hard, Stiles," Anna said.

"Not all there is," Alan said. "Think of it like gunpowder. It's just powder until a spark ignites it. You two need to be that spark."

"If you mean light myself on fire, I don't think I'm up for that."

"Are you really that much of an idiot?" Anna asked.

"Anna," I said, trying to hide my amusement. Stiles gave her a look while Scott gave him a look.

Alan chuckled. "Let me try a different analogy. I used to golf. I learned the best golfers never swing before first imagining where they want to ball to go. They see it in their mind and their mind takes over. It can be pretty extraordinary what the force of your own will can accomplish."

"Force of will," Stiles repeated.

"'Imagination is more important than knowledge'," I quoted and Alan nodded in agreement.

"Hey, if this is going to work, Stiles, you have to believe it," the vet said.

Stiles took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll be there to help,' Anna reassured him. "We'll do this together."

~~~

I was leaning against my Renegade when Stiles pulled in. Anna immediately went over to help Stiles pull out the bags of Mountain Ash from his Jeep. I saw Erica and Isaac go inside and I followed them in. Derek and Boyd were going to be outside.

"You sure you want to do this?" Erica asked me.

"Not really, but if he's going after the class of '06, I'm the perfect bait for him."

We stepped inside the plastic flaps and then split up. Erica and Isaac going one way, I going another. There were so many flashing lights going on, I had no idea how I was going to find Jackson. I didn't want to have to change my eye color just yet. I saw Scott talking to Isaac and showing him how to use the syringe before darting off. I moved through the crowd and bumped into Harris. We recognized each other. He was with a date. We just looked at each other before I turned and quickly walked away. I really hoped he didn't know that we suspected that he was the Kanima master. I spotted Jackson and Isaac walking up behind him and jabbing the syringe into his neck. I looked towards who he'd been walking towards and saw another girl I'd gone to school with. I couldn't remember her name. Was she the target?

ANNA

Stiles began to pour the Mountain Ash out of the first trash bag while I carried the second bag. I was full of worry. I was worried that something would happen to Trish. I was worried that we weren't going to have enough Ash. I was worried that the plan wouldn't work. But my biggest worry was Trish getting hurt. What if she got hurt? I knew she could use magic and she said she was powerful but I had no idea how powerful she really was. Could she protect herself from the Kanima if Stiles was right? We were halfway around the building when I realized that Stiles had been calling my name.

"Huh?"

"I need the other bag," he said.

"Oh. Sorry." I handed him the bag.

"You're worried about Trish, aren't you?"

I nodded.

"She'll be okay. I've seen her stand up to this thing. I watched her stand up to...," he trailed off.

"You watched her stand up to Peter," I finished for him. "At Beacons Crossing. Trish told me."

"Yeah. Look, Trish can take care of herself. I promise, Anna. But we need to trap this thing before it kills someone else."

I nodded and we continued on. I started to hear gunshots. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

"Sounds like it."

I heard a roar. "Yep, it's the Hunters."

We worked quickly but when we got close to Stiles' Jeep, he suddenly stopped and poured the rest of the Ash into his hand.

"Oh, no," he muttered. He had a handful of Ash and more than a handful worth of space between us and the beginning of the line.

"Stiles..."

"We don't have enough." He pulled his phone out and dialed. "Scott, pick up. Pick up now. Look, I got, like, 50 feet of Ash left and I'm out, okay? So you gotta get your wolf ass down here to help us because I don't know what to do and I'm just standing here and I'm," I heard the gunshots again, along with growls and snarls. But I also could feel every other emotion. Anger, anxiety, lust, why the hell was I feeling lust?, fear, annoyance. "I'm all alone and I'm hearing gunfire and werewolves and I'm standing here like a freaking idiot with Anna with a handful of magic fairy dust. And I don't have enough. Okay?" He hung up.

"Stiles. What did Alan and Trish say at the clinic?"

"You got to believe. You need to believe."

"Then believe, Stiles."

"Okay, Stiles, believe," he said. "Just picture it. Just imagine it working." He was giving himself a pep talk. "Just..." he glanced over in my direction and his attention was caught on something. "Imagine."

I looked and saw a bumper sticker with the quote Trish had said in the clinic.

Imagination is more important than knowledge

Stiles exhaled and then started to walk forward. I held my breath and watched. Slowly he approached the beginning of the barrier. He stopped and sighed, brushing his hand off on his pants.

"Stiles!" I ran towards him.

The barrier was complete. He looked amazed that it had worked. I jumped into his arms and we hugged, him swinging me around. He set me down and jumped onto a car, the alarm immediately going off. We didn't care. It worked! We'd made the barrier! Stiles grabbed my hand and we went inside to where we had agreed to hold Jackson once he was sedated. Stiles opened the door and Erica's arm went up, claws out.

"No, no, no!" Stiles said, hands raised. "Just us. It's just us. Don't freak."

"Where's Scott?" I asked.

"He said he had to make sure Argent didn't completely ruin the plan," Isaac said.

I closed the door behind me and Stiles moved deeper into the room while I stayed close to Erica.

"Is he okay?" Stiles asked.

Jackson was sitting in a chair looking like he was stoned out of his mind.

"Well, let's find out," Isaac said, approaching him and flicking out his claws. He raised his arm to slash at Jackson and the Kanima caught his wrist and squeezed. Isaac went to a knee. "God! Ah!" Jackson let go and Isaac retreated back to us.

"I think he's okay," I said.

"Okay, no one does anything like that again, okay?" Stiles said.

Erica nodded and I could tell she was freaked out for some reason.

"Oh, I thought the ketamine was supposed to put him out," Isaac said, still in pain as his wrist healed.

"Yeah, well, apparently this is all we're gonna get. So let's just hope that whoever's controlling him just decided to show up tonight."

Jackson's eyes suddenly opened and I squeaked. Erica looked at me and Stiles looked over to check on Isaac.

"I'm here," Jackson said, his voice sounding like two people talking at once. "I'm right here with you."

Stiles slowly approached Jackson and crouched down in front of him. "Jackson, is that you?"

"Us. We're all here."

Now I was with Erica on the being freaked out.

Stiles looked back at us before turning back to Jackson. "Are you the one killing people?" he asked.

"We are the ones killing murderers."

I was too freaked out to make a Legion joke.

"So all the people you killed so far..."

"Deserved it."

"See, we got this little rule book that says you only go after murderers."

"Anything can break if enough pressure is applied."

Erica, Isaac, and I looked at one another.

"Alright, so the people you're killing are all murderers then?"

"All. Each. Every one."

"Well, who did they murder?"

"Me."

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"They murdered me."

Stiles looked back at us and the two wolves started to go defensive. Jackson's eyes turned bright orange and very lizard-like.

"Stiles...," I managed to squeak out.

Stiles looked back at Jackson as I stepped forward and grabbed the back of his jacket.

"They murdered me."

I had a death grip on Stiles. I will admit it. I was terrified. Jackson moved his right hand to his leg and I saw the entire arm was covered with scales and he had claws.

"Okay," Stiles said, his voice betraying that he'd joined the Freaked Out Club. "Alright. More ketamine. The man needs more ketamine. Come on."

"We don't have anymore," Isaac informed him.

"You used the whole bottle?"

Erica started patting Stiles. I couldn't take my eyes off of Jackson. Half his face was now covered in scales and he stood and screeched at us.

"Um... Okay. Out! Everyone out!"

Erica, being the closest to the door, was the first one out, pulling me along with her.

"Go, go, go, go!" Isaac pushed Stiles out. We slammed the door shut and braced against it once we were out.

"Okay, find something to move in front of the door!" Stiles cried. A fully transformed Jackson burst through the wall a split second after Stiles finished.

"I don't think we have to worry about the door," I said.

TRISH

Anna slammed into me.

"Ow! Anna!"

She grabbed my arm and dragged me away.

"Anna, what are you doing?"

"We lost him. He escaped. But we have the barrier so he's not going anywhere."

"What do you mean? You lost him?"

She dragged me towards the Jeep. Several minutes later, Stiles came out of the building, looking freaked out. I heard someone coming towards us and I turned to see Derek running towards us. Stiles hopped over the Mountain Ash and Derek stopped next to him.

"Hey! Um... So we kinda lost Jackson inside, but it's..."

Erica and Isaac came out and stopped. Isaac crouched down and examined the barrier Stiles and Anna had laid. The two looked at one another, knowing they were trapped until the barrier was broken.

"Oh, my God! It's working! Oh, this is... I did something."

Derek was looking around, a concerned look on his face.

"Derek?" I asked.

We suddenly heard a howl. A distressed howl.

"Scott," the Alpha said.

"What?" Stiles asked, confused.

"Break it."

"What? No way!"

"Scott's dying!"

"Okay, what?" I moved towards the barrier. "How do you know that?"

"Oh, my God, Stiles, I just know! Break it!"

I broke the barrier as Derek screamed at Stiles. "Go! Find him!"

Derek sprinted away and I ran after him. Of course, with Derek being an Alpha werewolf, he was much faster than me. By the time I caught up with him, he was dragging Scott out of a mist-filled room.

"Oh, my God!"

"She tried to kill him with vaporized wolfsbane."

"We have to get him to Alan. Now!"

Derek picked up Scott and we ran to my car.

"Oh, My God! Scott!" Stiles cried.

"Get everyone home, Stiles. Now!" I started the car as Derek jumped into the front seat. Erica, Isaac, and Anna were getting into the Jeep as I sped off.

Derek looked into the back seat. "I... I think I bit her," Derek said.

"Bit who? Who tried to kill Scott?"

"Victoria."

"You bit an Argent!?"

"She attacked me! I was acting in self-defense!"

I punched the speed dial on my phone.

Hello?

"Alan, we're heading towards the clinic. Scott's been poisoned with wolfsbane. The vaporized kind. I think she was trying to make it look like he had an asthma attack."

I'll be waiting for you. He hung up.

"Why did she attack you?" I asked.

"You heard the howl. The better question is why did she try to kill Scott? Doesn't that go against the Code?"

"Well, the Argents aren't exactly sticklers to the rules, now are they?"

Derek didn't answer. My guess was Victoria had found out about Romeo and Juliet and tried to kill him because of it. I pulled into the parking lot of the animal clinic and I ran towards the door as Derek retrieved Scott. Alan had the door open before I reached it. The two of us worked quickly and it didn't take long before Scott was breathing normally again. I treated Derek for his brief exposure while Alan finished up with Scott. We were relieved that he'd had the strength to howl.

"Thank you," Derek said as Alan turned to leave. Alan nodded.

I left the room as well. "Everything went wrong," I said, my voice low. "The barrier worked but the plan fell through."

We stepped out into the front office.

"Sometimes even the best-laid plans can backfire," Alan answered.

"No kidding."

"Can't decide if I admire your sentimentality or despise it."

We both turned to the woman sitting in the waiting room. It didn't surprise me that Marian Morrell was sitting in the lobby.

"If I want your opinion," Alan said. "I'll make an appointment with the guidance office."

By the way, Marian and Alan were siblings, Alan being the older of the two. Like me, both of them helped keep the balance, although the two disagreed on how to keep the balance.

"From the state of things," Marian said. "I think you could use a little guidance. Are you really going to leave all of this up to a couple of kids?"

"Nice to know we're all kids," I smarted off.

"They're more capable than you think," Alan defended.

Marian nodded. "And are you going to tell them what's coming?"

I looked at Marian as Alan looked over his shoulder towards the room we'd left Scott and Derek in.

"They've got enough to worry about," he said, his voice low.

Believe it or not, I knew what she was talking about. But Alan was right. We all had enough to worry about with the Kanima and the Argents. What was coming was the reason why Mom had collected so much Mountain Ash. And the reason Derek had been trying to build his pack so quickly, despite my advice.